| Two Nuns and a Pack Mule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 23, 1988 | |||
| Genre | Post-hardcore, noise rock | |||
| Length | Original release: 29:11 Re-release: 43:55 | |||
| Label |  Touch & Go Records  Blast First  Au Go Go Records  Torso Records | |||
| Producer | Steve Albini, Fluss | |||
| Rapeman chronology | ||||
| ||||
Two Nuns and a Pack Mule is the only studio album by the Chicago noise rock band Rapeman, released by Touch & Go Records on August 23, 1988. The CD re-release contained the Budd extended play in its entirety.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Alternative Rock | 7/10 [2] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 7/10 [3] |
| OndaRock | 8/10 [4] |
| Rolling Stone |  [5] |
The indie music press largely applauded the album as the much awaited studio follow-up to Albini’s work with Big Black. Trouser Press compared it favorably to their previous release, writing that the album "fits Albini's distinctive meltdown guitar and shriek vocals into rough song forms [...] Rapeman spits out sparks with the conviction of Albini's acerbic intelligence." [6]
In retrospective reviews, Jason Ankeny of AllMusic wrote that the album "varies in its attack in ways Albini's old trio Big Black never did; the demented rhythms constantly threaten to veer out of control, and Albini's guitar screeches like something rabid and bloodthirsty", sarcastically writing that lyrically, "the group displays the same warmth and compassion so evident in their choice of a name [...] songs tackle sex ("Trouser Minnow"), ethnicity ("Hated Chinee"), and classic rock ("Radar Love Lizard")." [1] FACT Magazine ranked it the 28th best album of the 1980s, calling the "oft-overlooked" album "one of Albini’s greatest moments on the other side of the production desk." Dominick Fernow of Prurient-fame wrote that the album "was one of the first rock records I ever heard that made me question owning it [...] quite possibly the last dangerous rock album made?" [7]
All songs written by Rapeman, except track 9, written by Billy Gibbons and Bill Ham.
Side Yo
Side Mo
Bonus tracks on CD edition, originally from the Budd EP
The tracks "Marmoset" and "Radar Love Lizard" were mistakenly listed in reverse order on the vinyl edition's track listing. Their titles were mistakenly swapped on the CD version.
The inner sleeve contained explanations of the lyrical content for the tracks:
Rapeman was an American noise rock band founded in 1987 and disbanded in 1989. It consisted of Steve Albini on guitar and vocals, David Wm. Sims on bass and Rey Washam on drums. In the years since their brief tenure, Rapeman’s sound has also been described as post-hardcore.
Shellac was an American noise rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1992 by Steve Albini, Bob Weston and Todd Trainer. Their lineup remained consistent until Albini's death in May 2024.
Big Black was an American punk rock band from Evanston, Illinois, active from 1981 to 1987. Founded first as a solo project by singer and guitarist Steve Albini, the band became a trio with an initial lineup that included guitarist Santiago Durango and bassist Jeff Pezzati, both of Naked Raygun. In 1985, Pezzati was replaced by Dave Riley, who played on Big Black's two full-length studio albums, Atomizer (1986) and Songs About Fucking (1987).
The Jesus Lizard is an American rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas by vocalist David Yow, guitarist Duane Denison and bassist David Wm. Sims. They relocated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1989, where they found kindred spirits in recording engineer Steve Albini and Touch and Go Records. With the addition of drummer Mac McNeilly, they began performing live, eventually attracting an international audience with their powerful live show.
Noise rock is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extreme levels of distortion through the use of electric guitars and, less frequently, electronic instrumentation, either to provide percussive sounds or to contribute to the overall arrangement.
Ozma is the second studio album by the Melvins, released in 1989 through Boner Records. It is the first Melvins album to feature Lori Black on bass guitar and was recorded when the band relocated to San Francisco.
Craw were an American independent band from Cleveland, Ohio. They belonged to the harder-edged branch of the math rock or post hardcore movement, in the same category as bands such as Colossamite, Keelhaul, Zeni Geva, Dazzling Killmen and Ruins.
Atomizer is the debut full-length album by American punk rock group Big Black released in 1986.
Songs About Fucking is the second and final studio album by American rock band Big Black, released in 1987 by Touch and Go Records. The album includes a rendition of Kraftwerk's "The Model" in a remixed version from that which appeared on Big Black's then-recent single. The compact disc of Songs About Fucking added the other side of that single, a cover of Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore".
Able Tasmans were an indie pop band from Auckland, New Zealand, initially formed as a duo in 1983. They released four albums and two EPs on Flying Nun Records before splitting up in 1996.
Steven Frank Albini was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (1992–2024), and engineered acclaimed albums like the Pixies' Surfer Rosa (1988), PJ Harvey's Rid of Me and Nirvana's In Utero.
Visions of Excess is the second album by the Golden Palominos. The band's line-up was substantially different from their first album. It includes a cover of Moby Grape's "Omaha", with Michael Stipe singing lead.
After Murder Park is the third album by British rock band the Auteurs, released in March 1996. The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and produced by Steve Albini. In 2014, British independent record label 3 Loop Music re-released the album as a 2CD Expanded Edition which included b-sides, alternate versions, radio session tracks and live recordings.
Shot is an album by the band The Jesus Lizard, its first release on Capitol Records. Some copies of the album were accompanied by a documentary titled "Sho(r)t".
Budd is the first release by the Chicago noise rock band Rapeman. The first three songs on the EP were recorded live. The title is a reference to R. Budd Dwyer, a politician who committed suicide during a televised press conference. The lyrics of the title track contain references to phrases used during the incident.
Starters Alternators is an album by Dutch post-punk band The Ex. It is the band's 10th studio album and was produced by Steve Albini for a 1998 CD released jointly by Touch and Go Records and the band’s own label, Ex Records.
Libertine is the third full-length studio album by indie rock band Silkworm. It was released in 1994 on El Recordo. It was their last recorded release before guitarist/vocalist Joel RL Phelps left the band.
In the West is the second full-length album by indie rock band Silkworm, released in 1994. It was the band's first full-length album to be produced by their long-time friend Steve Albini; the first official recording that the band recorded with him was the His Absence Is A Blessing EP.
The Lizard Train were an Australian rock band from Adelaide which formed in early 1985. They released five albums, Slippery, The Ride (1990), Get Yer Wah Wahs Out (1992), Couch (1993) and Everything Moves (1995). Australian rock music historian, Ian McFarlane, contrasted their early work as "a melange of screaming guitars did battle over a rumbling rhythm section. Yet, beneath the distorted riffs and lyrical angst, the band boasted a melodic and harmonic sensibility usually disregarded in such aggressive music" with later work "brimming with powerful, dark songs and inspired musicianship".
"Mothra" is a song by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was taken from their 1992 album Pure and saw release as a radio promo and music video in the same year. The track's title is derived from 1961 Japanese film of the same name by Ishirō Honda. Musically, "Mothra" is a grinding, mechanical song with shouted vocals and heavily distorted instruments.
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